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J. THOMSON. STAPLB MACHINE.

No. 334,909; Patented Jan. 26, 1886.

. ter it is formed to astaple. Fig. 7 is a detached ter, showingmodification of the same.

i ,produce each staple are as follows: First, to feed to the requiredshape.

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STAPLE-IVIACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,909, dated January26, 1886l Applicationlcd May 14,1885. Serial No. 165,475; (No model.)Patented in Belgium March 24, 1815, No. 68,290; in England March 25,1885, No. 3,852, and in France March 25, 1885, No. 167,869.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN THOMSON, of Brooklyn, county of Kings, andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inStaple-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention refers to automatic machines for producing staples fromwire or rods, the staples being of that class in which barbs are formedin the prongs, and the ends of the prongs are beveled to form acutting-edge and deiiecting angle.V r

The object of this invent-ion is the production of a machine which shallbe capable of the highest speed of operation, while being simple in itsmovements, easily understood and operated, durable, and convenient toadjust or reair. p rFhe fundamental principle underlying theconstruction and arrangement of this machine is that all of itsmovements are continuous rotary actions; -hence I find but onepracticable limit to its speed-namely, the duty required of the cuttingand forming dies.

In consequence of avoiding the employment of all reciprocatingmovements, the machine operates smoothly, without shock or jar, issimple to construct, is easily understood, and' can be operated withordinary skill.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of the specification, Figurelis a side elevation in which the side frame is removed. Fig. 2 is avertical transverse section on line D, viewed in the direction of arrowi. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section and top plan view on line R. Fig. 4 isa back elevation in partial section. Fig. 5 is a detached detail sideView, enlarged, showing construction of cutter. Fig. 6 is a similar viewin transverse section on line C, also showing the blank just before andafenlarged end View of wedge and modification of same. Fig. 8 is adetached View of thccut- The order and conditions of operation to thewire; second, to form the barbs and bevels and separate the blank,third,to bend the blank As will hereinafter be seen, the conditions offorming the barbs and bevels and separattherefore, the arcs 7 8 of ingthe blank are really executed at and by a single action; hence there arebut three distinct operations required for the production of eachstaple.

The several conditions will be described in the order above named. Thewire l, Figs. 2 and 3, is conducted by any convenient means to thegrooved friction wheel or roll 2 and feed wheel or roll 3.

In the present illustration the mechanism is arranged to produce twostaples during each revolution of the driving-shaft 4; hence there aretwo feeds and two periods ofrest to the wire. As it is more convenientto keep all of the rates of motions alike, the feed-wheel is made withtwo sections of its periphery, 5 6, cut away. During each completerevolution, greatest radii will bite the wire between the friction-wheeland force rit through the machine until its end impinges against thestop-piece 9. IThe length of the arcs are such that they will insure acomplete feed, slipping slightly upon the wire before releasing itsbite. The feed wheel or roll is mounted upon a shaft, 10, journaled inthe eX- tension l1, motion being imparted to it directly from thedriving-shaft by t-he pair of bevel-gears 12 18, attached, respectively,to the driving-shaft and feed-wheel shaft. The friction-wheel ispivotally mounted at 14. upon a lever, 15. The said lever is journaledat 16 to the frame of the machine. A spring, 17, shown only in Fig. 2,acts between the rigid extension 18 and the bearing 19 of the lever, theaction of the spring being to hold the lever upto the stop 20. The powerof this spring and the relative adjustment of the stop and thebiting-surfaces of the driving and friction wheels'are such that anample degree of friction is insured to feed the wire,I but it will beseen that the spring will yield under any unevenness in the wire, andthat when the end of the wire reaches the stop and the face of thedriving-wheel slips, the friction will not be destructive on the bitingsurfaces in consequence of the spring yielding the instant its maximumof resistance is reached. On the driving-shaft is mounted a spur-gear,21, which transmits its motion through a similar gear, 22, of likediameter,

mounted on the driven shaft 23. On the said shaft is also secured themale shearingdies or cutters 25.

FiXedly secured to the base or main body of the machine is the femaleshearing-die 26, having a transverse slot, 27, through and in which thewire is passed and held. The form of the cutting portion of the dies issuch (see Fig. 6) that the barbs are cut on the end of the blank and thecontiguous end of the wire, the center tooth of the cutter 28 beingelongated sufficiently to fully cut the wire asunder. The

said tooth is'also formed to produce in the act.

of separatingthe desired bevels; hence as the cutter in its revolutionpasses the wire it is barbed, beveled, and separated, the blank thussevered being sustained by the cheeks 29 30.

The completing operation is to bend the blank to the desired form. Thisis accomplishedimmediately the blank is severed by means ofthe disk 3l,mounted on the driving-shaft, which carries projecting from itsperiphery two formers, 32 33. .Each is relatively so timed as toimmediately follow upon the action of the cutter, to strike the blankand force it between the cheeks, from when ce it drops a nished staple.

Besides the advantage of employing rotary movements for the severaloperations, there are others of hardlyless importance, of which thechief is the effect of the rotary thrust upon the wire when cutting thebarbs and separating the blank.

In machines of this class heretofore employing reciprocating movementsfor the cutting action there is aconsiderable tendency to twist thewire, and particularly to flatten the side of the wire opposite the sideacted upon by the cutter, in consequence ofthe thrust being in the sameplane as the grooves in the female die, causing the metal to ratherswell upward under the compressive action of the cutter, and henceflatten against the fiat portion of the slot. In the circular cut,however, it will be seen that even were the face of the cutter in a linecoincident with the center of the disk, or slightly at an angle thereto,as seen in Fig. 5, the effect ofthe blow is as indicated by arrow 36;hence tending to force the metal downward against the round bottom ofthe slot and separating the wirewith but little or4 :no flattening toappear on the sides of the prongs of the staple.

lt is evident that by properly shaping the angle of contact between theface of the cutter and the wire any desired effect may be produced bythe circular action, either to lift or to depress the wire in the slot.

In machines of this character, even when the very best material is usedand t-he highest degree of accuracy is put into the Workmanship of itsparts, the severe strains to which they are subjected and the greatrapidity and vast number of shocks sustained makes the matter ofaccessibility of the different parts for repair or renewal and theabsolute rigidity of t-he Working parts a matter of great importance.

It will be observed that thcseveral parts of this machine are disposedwith a view to the greatest degree of compactness and rigidity, and thateither the driving or the driven shaft may be removed,with its gear anddisk complete,by simply detaching the half boxes 37 38.

To sharpen the cutters-which is of course frequently requiredthearrangement is such that no portion of the machine proper requires to bechanged or removed. This is effected by securing the cutters, in suchmanner as to be removed and replaced without affecting their relativeadjustment on the disk, in the following manner: The side of the disk isrecessed at its outer surface, as shown in Figs. 2

same as that of the inner surface, 39, ofthe re' cess. The face of thecutter 44 is formed to 'tit the wall of the disk at 52, and the cutteris secured against displacement sidewise by the rabbet ljoint 53. Theinner portion of the recess between its walls is wider than the outerportion. The cutter is now finally locked in position by the wedge 43,which acts between the cutter and the wall 54, in either or both ofwhich it is rabbeted to prevent side displacement. The wedge may besecured in position by the screw, as 55; but l prefer the mode shown at42, in which the edge of the wedge is simply upset over the face of thedisk. To remove the cutter, the upset edge or burr is simply filed orchipped off, when the wedge may be driven back. To sharpen the cutter,the face is ground parallel. It will now be seen that when all arereplaced in position the wedge will advance farther than before, inconsequence of the reduced thickness, and may be again upset, and thatthe actual cutting-edge of the cutter has again been brought to theexact relative position which it occupied before being ground. Thisadjustment, furthermore, cannot be disarranged so long as the face ofthe cutter is ground with even approximate accuracy. It will now becomprehended that the shock of cutting and separating the wire will beborne by a practically solid structure, and which by at 48, partiallyforming, and the third at 49,'

finally-completing the formation of the angles, by a succession of cuts.All may be sharpened as in the iirst instance. These sections beingvarranged one behind the other and soas to make deeper cutssuccessively, it is evident IlO that the force necessary to mak e allthe required cuts is extended over a greater arc of the circle throughwhich the cutter passes, and the shock or jar caused by the sectionalcutter is not so severe as when all the cuts are made at once.

I claim- 1. In a stapleforming machine, the wirei'eeding mechanismconsistingin the combina tion ofa feed-roll having portions cnt away, afriction-roll, a pivoted lever on which the roll is mounted, and aspring drawing on said lever, substantially as described.

2. In a staple-forming machine, the combination of a grooved feed-rollhaving cutaway portions, anot-her grooved feed-roll, a pivoted levercarrying one of the feed-rolls, and a spring connected to the frame ofthe machine and constantly drawing upon said lever, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a stapleforming machine, the combination of a stationary femaleshearing-die and a rotating male shearing-die mounted on a disk, thedies being arranged to sever the blank and simultaneously form bevclsand barbs in one end of the blank and the contiguous end of the wire,substantially as described.

4. In a staple-forming machine, the combination of' the stationarygrooved female die, a rotary disk mounted on ashaft and carrying a maledie, a rotating former mounted on another shaft, and acontinuously-operating in-l termittent feed, substantially as described.

5. In a staple-forming machine, the com bination, with a female diehaving a roundbottom groove or slot with the sides at right angles tothe cutting edge, of a male die co-V operating with the female die andmeans, substantially as described, whereby the latter approaches thefemale die at an angle to the plane of the-groove therein, so that thethrust ofthe male die tends to force the metal downward against thebottom of the groove, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a staple forming machine in which all the motions are rotary andcontinuous, the combination of a continuouslysrotating intermittentfeed, a xed female die, a rotary male die, erate in quick succession andfrom a single driving-shaft, substantially as described.

7. ln a staple-forming machine, a cutter consisting of a section ot' aring the outside contour of which is formed on different planes forcutting the barbs and separating the wire, substantially as described.

8. In a staple-forming machine, the combination, with a slotted disk, ofa cutter consisting of a section of a ring having the desired contourfor forming the barbs and cutting the wire, the said section beingrelatively adjustable to the disk by which it is carried, substantiallyas described.

9. In a staple-forming machine, the combination, with a slotted disk, ofa cutter consisting of a section of a ring which is adjustable relativeto the disk, and having a central projecting cutting-edge to sever theblank, and side cutting-edges to form barbs in the blank and contiguouswire, substantially as described.

10. In a staple-forming machine, the combination, with a disk, of acutter formed ot' a section of a ring having the desired contour forforming the barbs and cutting the wire, and the wedge for locking thecutter in the disk, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN THOMSON.

Witnesses:

JAs G. Coornn, ALFRED FARRAR and a rotary former, all arranged to op-

